Absolute Candor (episode)
The crew's journey to Freecloud takes a detour when Picard orders a stop at the planet Vashti, where Picard and Musiker relocated Romulan refugees fourteen years earlier. Upon arrival, Picard reunites with Elnor, a young Romulan he befriended during the relocation. Meanwhile, Narek continues his attempts to learn more about Soji while Rizzo's impatience with his lack of progress grows. Summary Prologue Jean-Luc Picard visits a Romulan relocation hub in 2385 on Vashti. The settlement is lively, and many Romulans seem to be getting accustomed to their new lives as they go about their daily routines. When Picard beams down, many Romulans are very excited to see him as they rush over to him for any updates on the evacuation of Romulan worlds from the impending supernova. Picard is quick to assure them that the Federation will not abandon them and will help them settle in their new life. A young boy, named Elnor sees Picard beam down, and rushes to house of the Qowat Milat and tells the sisters that he's coming. Shortly after, Picard enters and greets everyone. Elnor is shy at first, but one of the warrior nuns, Zani, tells him to make himself seen, noting that he's been excitedly talking about Picard since his last visit. Elnor eagerly asks Picard if he brought him a present, to which Picard gives him The Three Musketeers. Zani rebukes Elnor's excited reactions, saying that Picard is not fond of emotional displays, or children. Picard reassures Elnor that he's actually very fond of him, promising to read the book with Elnor later on. Picard thanks Zani and the Qowat Milat for their recent help in successfully relocating over 10,000 new refugees, and that the Federation is in debt to them. He also gives Zani some sweet hanifak as a gift. As they eat and speak, Picard notes how it must be difficult for Elnor, being the only boy in a house full of women, as the Qowat Milat is by tradition, an all-female organization. Zani notes that Elnor is loved, but does not belong with them. Picard promises that he will find a more suitable place for Elnor to live as soon as he can. Elnor and Picard in the meantime bond with each other on multiple ways, as Picard reads The Three Musketeers, and gives him fencing lessons. The two have fun together when Raffi Musiker unexpectedly hails Picard. Picard tries to disregard the call, but is suddenly disturbed by what he hears, and responds "What do you mean, synths have attacked Mars?" Informed of the devastating attack, Picard leaves earlier than anticipated. Picard meets with the nuns and assures them that he intends to make sure the mission to evacuate the Romulans moves forward as planned, and promises he will be back soon. Elnor just watches, hidden behind some curtains as Picard beams away… Memorable quotes "You're making the admiral uncomfortable, Elnor. He dislikes displays odd emotion, and he's not overly fond of children." :- Zani "A promise is a prison, Elnor. Do not make yourself another's jailer." "And that reminds me, Zani, last time I made you a promise that I would try and find some sweet hanifak, but I totally forgot that promises were prisons, so..." :- Zani and Picard "What's your book about?" "The existential pain of living with the consciousness of death and how it defines us as Human beings." "Well, that's not a conversation killer at all. I totally want to talk about the existential pain of living with the consciousness of death." :- Agnes Jurati and Cristóbal Rios "Man can't even take a guilt trip without using a starship." :- Raffi Musiker, on Picard "I hate that fucking hospitality hologram." :- Rios "I am as eager to get to Freecloud as you." "I- Did I ever say I was eager you get to Freecloud? Do- Do I seem eager to you?" "I would say more… apprehensive." :- Picard, Musiker, and Rios "What's the Way of Absolute Candor?" "It's their primary teaching: total communication of emotion without any filter between thought and word. And it runs entirely counter to everything that the Romulans hold dear." :- Jurati and Picard "You got old, Admiral Picard." "You didn't." "I remind you that this is a house of truth." :- Zani and Picard "No uniform, no insignia, no rank, you go anywhere you like on the Artifact, and you know things. Are you Tal Shiar?" "No." "If you were Tal Shiar, would you also answer no?" "Yes." :- Soji Asha and Narek "You're not too late to rescue Elnor. He does not belong here. Once the evacuation ended, we simply never found a better home for him." "He completed his training?" "Last spring." "So he really is a Qowat Milat?" "No, and as a man, he never can be. But he is open-hearted, and apart from this display of the reticence you always seemed to inspire in him, forthright. And his fighting skills are truly formidable." "And you would send him away? He might find himself in serious danger. He might die." "He will. Before that comes to pass, it would gladden my heart to set him live." :- Zani and Picard on Elnor "That is not so!" :- Picard "Please, my friend, choose to live... I regret your choice." :- Elnor "Have you entertained for even a moment, that she might be the one handling you?" :- Lt. Narissa Rizzo to Narek Log entries Background information * : Title publicly revealed Story and script Cast and characters * Evan Evagora makes his first appearance as Elnor and is first featured in the opening credits. * Elnor is first portrayed by Ian Nunney. This marks only the second time that a main character of a Star Trek series is first introduced as a child, following Jonathan Archer's introduction in . * This is the first episode in which the entire main cast of the series appears. * Jeri Ryan reprises her role of Seven of Nine. She was last seen in . * With her appearance in this episode, Ryan is only the second main cast member of to reprise her main role in another live-action Star Trek installment, following Kate Mulgrew's appearance as Kathryn Janeway in . However, overall Ryan is the seventh main cast member of Voyager to appear outside of that series, as Roxann Dawson, Robert Duncan McNeill, Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips and Tim Russ all appeared throughout various Star Trek episodes and films, portraying characters related to their Voyager roles and sometimes entirely different roles. Music and sound * Pachelbel's Canon is played in the holographic simulation of Picard's study. * As Seven of Nine appears on-screen, a few notes of the main theme can be heard. This is even more apparent on the track "Mystery Ship" of the Star Trek: Picard - Season 1, Chapter 1 soundtrack album. Reception and aftermath * Continuity * This is the first episode of Star Trek to not feature any uniformed Starfleet officers. However, in the scenes at the beginning of the episode, set in 2385, Jean-Luc Picard is still a commissioned officer and wears his combadge. * This episode confirms that evacuation efforts lead by Starfleet in Romulan space were already under way before the attack on Mars occurred. It is implied that the Federation stopped supporting already established refuges when Starfleet discontinued its support of the Romulan cause. * Following his impromptu resignation, Picard not only cut his ties with Starfleet, but also broke his promise to support Romulan refugee groups, such as those lead by the Qowat Milat. This adds to the notion that Picard was only nursing his offended dignity in the years since his resignation, as first observed by him in . * Two additional Emergency Holograms make their first appearance aboard the La Sirena, the Emergency Hospitality Hologram and Emmet, a tactical-focused hologram. Like previous holograms seen aboard the ship in , they take on the appearance of Cristóbal Rios, albeit with distinct personalities. * Elnor mentions Data's cat, Spot, and wishes to see cats for himself. * Zani claims in front of Elnor that Picard dislikes children, openly addressing his discomfort around children which he himself addressed and confessed in the past, such as in , , and . * When talking about the "Romulan Ritual", Soji Asha makes a head movement similar to the ones Data was programmed to emulate. * A Romulan Bird of Prey makes its first on-screen appearance since the The Original Series episode . Its design is similar to its appearance in the remastered episodes of Star Trek. * This episode takes place almost entirely in the Beta Quadrant, in the orbit and on the surface of Vashti. It is one of the few Star Trek episodes which acknowledge this, although some previous episodes and films can be deduced to take place there as well, especially those focusing on the Romulan Star Empire and the Klingon Empire. Links and references Starring * Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard * Alison Pill as Dr. Agnes Jurati * Isa Briones as Soji Asha * Evan Evagora as Elnor * Michelle Hurd as Raffi Musiker ;With * Santiago Cabrera as Cristóbal Rios / Emergency Hospitality Hologram / Emmet ;And * Harry Treadaway as Narek Special guest star * Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine Guest starring * Peyton List as Narissa Rizzo * Amirah Vann as Zani * Rebecca Wisocky as Ramdha * Ian Nunney as Young Elnor * Evan Parke as Tenqem Adrev Co-starring * Erik Alvarez as Bidran * Jamie Barcelon as a Waiter * Kay Bess as La Sirena Computer voice * Donny Boaz as Skantal * David Chattam as Kibitzer #2 * Willow Greer as Refugee #1 * Djamel Hamdad as Refugee #2 * Ken Lyle as a Fruit Vendor * Linda Nile as Kibitzer #3 * Ciro Suarez as Kibitzer #1 * Heather Wynters as Shai References 2385; 2396; Abyssus; antique; ; ; auto-evasion protocol; Beta Quadrant; cat; Central Station; Château Picard; Class C shuttlecraft; convoy; D'Artagnan; Daimanta; Data; ; deflector shield; Disordered Ward; disruptor; doctor; drone (technology); ; Earth; Ellison; Emergency Hologram basic installation; ethnic strife; Federation; fencing; Fenris Rangers; Festschrift; Freecloud; French language; Ganmadan; Hall of State; holomatrix; inertial dampeners; Journal of Theoretical Cybernetics; Jurati's dad; Jussac; Kar Kantar; Klingon opera; Kwok; La Sirena; Mars; Milky Way Galaxy; nav log; ; North Station; ; orbital killer drone; paper book; passenger manifest; patrolling; pixmit; planetary defense system; pleasure; poverty; power vacuum; professor; qalankhkai; Qiris sector; Qowat Milat; refugee; ritual; road; Romulan; Romulan ale; (Kar Kantar's Bird-of-Prey); Romulan language; Romulan Rebirth movement; Romulan Relocation Hub; Romulan Social Club; Romulan Senate; Seattle; Seb-Cheneb; Seven of Nine's ship; Shaenor; Spot; Southeast Station; sweet hanifak; sword; Tal Shiar; talk show; tan qalanq; ; thrusters; ; transit zone; Vashti; Vashti suns; ; waterway; Way of Absolute Candor; Yrrh Mnrrh; Zhaban External link * |next= }}